Matthew 26:1-16 NIV
When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, “As you know, the Passover is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”
Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and they schemed to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. “But not during the festival,” they said, “or there may be a riot among the people.”
While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table. When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.”
Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It's the end of day 2 in Jerusalem on the last week of Jesus' mortal life. The previous day he entered Jerusalem hailed as messiah and Lord by the crowd. But on this night His death looms large. In two days the Passover begins and the Passover Lamb will be slaughtered to atone for the sins of the people. The religious leaders gather to plot His demise. But they plan to wait until the crowds are not watching so they can avoid a riot.
That evening Jesus reclines at the home of a leper named Simon in a village across the Kidron Valley from Jerusalem. In the shadow of the temple Jesus is anointed by an unnamed woman as preparation for His burial. I'm certain she did not know it at the time. She merely thought to honor Jesus, but He knew the real meaning of her action and claimed it legendary.
The apostles complained that the expensive perfumed oil was a waste of money and should have been sold to help the poor. Jesus was indignant. He told them to stop bothering the woman. What she had done was a great thing. "The poor will always be with you", Jesus said, "but I will not".
Some have wanted to focus on Jesus' statement about the poor and the Christian responsibility for relieving poverty. Some use this passage as a prooftext to justify not making a priority the aid of the poor.
Building cathedrals and massive church facilities is a glory to God, much like the expensive alabaster perfumed oil used by the woman. The gift was given out of love and worship. The great cathedrals in Europe took decades upon decades to build. Communities emptied their coffers to fund the project. Some lived and died working on the project, never to see its completion. They made themselves poor in order to bless God.
Regardless of how we may appreciate or not these great works of religiously motivated architecture, their cost does not negate our responsibility to the poor. In the previous chapter Jesus was clear about how we'll be judged. Did we care for the hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, imprisoned and the stranger? Jesus took the Pharisees and teachers of the law to task over shirking on basic religious duties in lieu of supporting the temple.
Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.
Matthew 15:3-6 NIV
So Jesus' comment about the poor is not meant to be a license to pass on charity. It's simply an acknowledgment that poverty will always be a condition we can and should address. However, to His point, Jesus was soon to die. Perhaps His mood was sullen. He was clearly moved by the woman's care for Him. At that moment no jealous comment about the expense wasted on Him was going to stand unchallenged. She had done a beautiful thing and Jesus wasn't going to let anyone mar His appreciation for it.
Jesus said that the disciples wouldn't always have Him like they would the impoverished. Since He has already told them of His resurrection to follow three days after His crucifixion, He cannot truly say that His disciples will not always have Him. At the end of Matthew Jesus promises to be with them always even to the end of the age. (Mat 28:20) I think what Jesus meant was that they wouldn't always have Him to care for as they do while He is with them in the flesh.
Jesus was fully human, yet all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell in Him, such that we can say that Jesus is fully God.
For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,
Colossians 1:19 NIV
As human Jesus suffered the same weaknesses and temptations that we do. He felt powerful emotions, but He never allowed His emotions to cause Him to sin. What emotions may have driven His response to the apostles' challenge to the expensive perfume used to anoint Him? Was it love and gratitude for this woman and her compassion for Him? Was it anger at the apostles for their challenge? Was it fear and sadness knowing that His suffering and death was near? Any number of these emotions may have been behind His rebuttal. As a human He had needs and this woman had met a powerful need for comfort at that moment.
Oil was used for healing wounds, personal grooming and consecration of people and objects for holy purposes. Perhaps Jesus was struggling with fear and sadness over his coming crucifixion, but her anointing of Him reminded Him that an ultimate healing will follow. He will be given a new body, the first of its kind. Or perhaps he was reminded that His life is set aside for God alone. Her anointing may have helped Him find courage as He reaffirmed His mission and calling. And He was the promised messiah, the King of the Jews. Her anointing perhaps served as a consecration to serve the Lord as king and shepherd over Israel forever and ever. I can only speculate what Jesus was thinking and feeling. But whatever it was He praised the woman and her action saying she would be remembered forever.
In sharp contrast to the woman's gift to Jesus was the betrayal of Judas, one of His chosen apostles. He left Simon the Leper's home in Bethany and crossed the valley into Jerusalem with the intent to sell information about the whereabouts of Jesus, for he knew the religious leadership of Jerusalem wanted Jesus dead. The chief priest were pleased with his offer and paid him 30 pieces of silver.
gotquestions.org has an excellent article on the meaning of the price paid to Judas. While I do not agree that Zechariah was referring directly to Jesus or His time, but I do agree that the actions of Judas Iscariot recorded by Matthew are a fresh interpretation of the prophet in light of the Jesus event. I copy the article here for you.
"What is the significance of thirty pieces of silver?
Answer: In Hebrew culture, thirty pieces of silver was not a lot of money. In fact, it was the exact price paid to the master of a slave if and when his slave was gored by an ox (Exodus 21:32). The slave’s death was compensated by the thirty pieces of silver. There are two other places in the Bible that specifically mention the amount of thirty pieces of silver, and they are directly linked. The first passage is in Zechariah, which contains a prophecy that is later fulfilled in the book of Matthew.
Leading up to the prophecy of the thirty pieces of silver is a description of a strange episode in Zechariah’s life. God had the prophet Zechariah play the part of a shepherd and care for a flock “doomed to slaughter” (Zechariah 11:4–14). God used this to illustrate a prophetic judgment against Israel for crucifying Christ, predicting the fall of Israel in AD 70 and the subsequent scattering of the nation. There are several elements in this passage that point to it as a prophecy about Jesus. One prophetic reference is found in the thirty pieces of silver given to Zechariah after his work as a shepherd. He went to those he worked for and asked them to pay him what they thought he was worth. They gave him thirty pieces of silver, which he sarcastically calls a “handsome price” because it was such a small amount (Zechariah 11:13)—the price paid for a slave’s accidental death. The employers meant to insult Zechariah with this amount of money. Returning the insult, God tells Zechariah to “throw it to the potter,” and Zechariah tossed the money into the house of the Lord to be given to the potter.
These actions are a shockingly accurate and detailed prophecy, for when Judas Iscariot bargained with the leaders of Israel to betray the Lord Jesus, he asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” The murderous cabal then counted out for Judas “thirty pieces of silver” (Matthew 26:15). That’s all they considered Jesus to be worth.
Later, Judas was overcome with guilt for betraying Jesus, and, fulfilling Zechariah’s vivid prophecy, he threw the thirty silver coins into the temple (Matthew 27:3–5). The Jewish leaders used the thirty pieces of silver to buy a field from a potter, again as Zechariah had predicted (Matthew 27:6–10). It was in that field that Judas hanged himself."
As a literary device Matthew uses his knowledge of Zechariah to show that the life and death and resurrection of Jesus was foretold, but more than that, the use of the 30 pieces of silver is an ironic symbol. The price paid for the accidental death of a servant was paid for the intentional death of the prophet of Galilee. Little did they know they were accidentally killing the Son of God and Servant, par excellence, of the Lord.
Application of this narrative would be to remember the poor, honor Jesus and remember who He is, the Son of God and the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Beware of the path Judas chose and do not betray the Lord by selling out. Stay the course. Remain faithful. Do your duty. Witness, worship, pray, study, commune, fellowship with other Christians and serve those in need. Use the gifts the Lord has given you and honor Him in all you do.
When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, “As you know, the Passover is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”
Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and they schemed to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. “But not during the festival,” they said, “or there may be a riot among the people.”
While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table. When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.”
Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It's the end of day 2 in Jerusalem on the last week of Jesus' mortal life. The previous day he entered Jerusalem hailed as messiah and Lord by the crowd. But on this night His death looms large. In two days the Passover begins and the Passover Lamb will be slaughtered to atone for the sins of the people. The religious leaders gather to plot His demise. But they plan to wait until the crowds are not watching so they can avoid a riot.
That evening Jesus reclines at the home of a leper named Simon in a village across the Kidron Valley from Jerusalem. In the shadow of the temple Jesus is anointed by an unnamed woman as preparation for His burial. I'm certain she did not know it at the time. She merely thought to honor Jesus, but He knew the real meaning of her action and claimed it legendary.
The apostles complained that the expensive perfumed oil was a waste of money and should have been sold to help the poor. Jesus was indignant. He told them to stop bothering the woman. What she had done was a great thing. "The poor will always be with you", Jesus said, "but I will not".
Some have wanted to focus on Jesus' statement about the poor and the Christian responsibility for relieving poverty. Some use this passage as a prooftext to justify not making a priority the aid of the poor.
Building cathedrals and massive church facilities is a glory to God, much like the expensive alabaster perfumed oil used by the woman. The gift was given out of love and worship. The great cathedrals in Europe took decades upon decades to build. Communities emptied their coffers to fund the project. Some lived and died working on the project, never to see its completion. They made themselves poor in order to bless God.
Regardless of how we may appreciate or not these great works of religiously motivated architecture, their cost does not negate our responsibility to the poor. In the previous chapter Jesus was clear about how we'll be judged. Did we care for the hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, imprisoned and the stranger? Jesus took the Pharisees and teachers of the law to task over shirking on basic religious duties in lieu of supporting the temple.
Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.
Matthew 15:3-6 NIV
So Jesus' comment about the poor is not meant to be a license to pass on charity. It's simply an acknowledgment that poverty will always be a condition we can and should address. However, to His point, Jesus was soon to die. Perhaps His mood was sullen. He was clearly moved by the woman's care for Him. At that moment no jealous comment about the expense wasted on Him was going to stand unchallenged. She had done a beautiful thing and Jesus wasn't going to let anyone mar His appreciation for it.
Jesus said that the disciples wouldn't always have Him like they would the impoverished. Since He has already told them of His resurrection to follow three days after His crucifixion, He cannot truly say that His disciples will not always have Him. At the end of Matthew Jesus promises to be with them always even to the end of the age. (Mat 28:20) I think what Jesus meant was that they wouldn't always have Him to care for as they do while He is with them in the flesh.
Jesus was fully human, yet all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell in Him, such that we can say that Jesus is fully God.
For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,
Colossians 1:19 NIV
As human Jesus suffered the same weaknesses and temptations that we do. He felt powerful emotions, but He never allowed His emotions to cause Him to sin. What emotions may have driven His response to the apostles' challenge to the expensive perfume used to anoint Him? Was it love and gratitude for this woman and her compassion for Him? Was it anger at the apostles for their challenge? Was it fear and sadness knowing that His suffering and death was near? Any number of these emotions may have been behind His rebuttal. As a human He had needs and this woman had met a powerful need for comfort at that moment.
Oil was used for healing wounds, personal grooming and consecration of people and objects for holy purposes. Perhaps Jesus was struggling with fear and sadness over his coming crucifixion, but her anointing of Him reminded Him that an ultimate healing will follow. He will be given a new body, the first of its kind. Or perhaps he was reminded that His life is set aside for God alone. Her anointing may have helped Him find courage as He reaffirmed His mission and calling. And He was the promised messiah, the King of the Jews. Her anointing perhaps served as a consecration to serve the Lord as king and shepherd over Israel forever and ever. I can only speculate what Jesus was thinking and feeling. But whatever it was He praised the woman and her action saying she would be remembered forever.
In sharp contrast to the woman's gift to Jesus was the betrayal of Judas, one of His chosen apostles. He left Simon the Leper's home in Bethany and crossed the valley into Jerusalem with the intent to sell information about the whereabouts of Jesus, for he knew the religious leadership of Jerusalem wanted Jesus dead. The chief priest were pleased with his offer and paid him 30 pieces of silver.
gotquestions.org has an excellent article on the meaning of the price paid to Judas. While I do not agree that Zechariah was referring directly to Jesus or His time, but I do agree that the actions of Judas Iscariot recorded by Matthew are a fresh interpretation of the prophet in light of the Jesus event. I copy the article here for you.
"What is the significance of thirty pieces of silver?
Answer: In Hebrew culture, thirty pieces of silver was not a lot of money. In fact, it was the exact price paid to the master of a slave if and when his slave was gored by an ox (Exodus 21:32). The slave’s death was compensated by the thirty pieces of silver. There are two other places in the Bible that specifically mention the amount of thirty pieces of silver, and they are directly linked. The first passage is in Zechariah, which contains a prophecy that is later fulfilled in the book of Matthew.
Leading up to the prophecy of the thirty pieces of silver is a description of a strange episode in Zechariah’s life. God had the prophet Zechariah play the part of a shepherd and care for a flock “doomed to slaughter” (Zechariah 11:4–14). God used this to illustrate a prophetic judgment against Israel for crucifying Christ, predicting the fall of Israel in AD 70 and the subsequent scattering of the nation. There are several elements in this passage that point to it as a prophecy about Jesus. One prophetic reference is found in the thirty pieces of silver given to Zechariah after his work as a shepherd. He went to those he worked for and asked them to pay him what they thought he was worth. They gave him thirty pieces of silver, which he sarcastically calls a “handsome price” because it was such a small amount (Zechariah 11:13)—the price paid for a slave’s accidental death. The employers meant to insult Zechariah with this amount of money. Returning the insult, God tells Zechariah to “throw it to the potter,” and Zechariah tossed the money into the house of the Lord to be given to the potter.
These actions are a shockingly accurate and detailed prophecy, for when Judas Iscariot bargained with the leaders of Israel to betray the Lord Jesus, he asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” The murderous cabal then counted out for Judas “thirty pieces of silver” (Matthew 26:15). That’s all they considered Jesus to be worth.
Later, Judas was overcome with guilt for betraying Jesus, and, fulfilling Zechariah’s vivid prophecy, he threw the thirty silver coins into the temple (Matthew 27:3–5). The Jewish leaders used the thirty pieces of silver to buy a field from a potter, again as Zechariah had predicted (Matthew 27:6–10). It was in that field that Judas hanged himself."
As a literary device Matthew uses his knowledge of Zechariah to show that the life and death and resurrection of Jesus was foretold, but more than that, the use of the 30 pieces of silver is an ironic symbol. The price paid for the accidental death of a servant was paid for the intentional death of the prophet of Galilee. Little did they know they were accidentally killing the Son of God and Servant, par excellence, of the Lord.
Application of this narrative would be to remember the poor, honor Jesus and remember who He is, the Son of God and the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Beware of the path Judas chose and do not betray the Lord by selling out. Stay the course. Remain faithful. Do your duty. Witness, worship, pray, study, commune, fellowship with other Christians and serve those in need. Use the gifts the Lord has given you and honor Him in all you do.
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